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Will the Ravens bring the heat or drop back?

In the past this question would be a moot point, a no brainer. Will the Ravens pressure Ben Roethlisberger; of course they will. It's what they do, what they always do. It's what the Steelers always do too.

Is it a guarantee that the same scenario will unfold for either team's defense this year when they put their gameplan into action? Maybe it's not such a done deal if you think about it.

The Ravens could very well use their front 7, one of the best in the league, to get after Ben and the Steelers retooled offensive line and nobody would be surprised. However considering that the Steelers have a high powered offense, with multiple weapons at WR and TE at Ben's disposal we could see the Ravens drop back and try to take as many of those weapons away as they can. Play a lot of man coverage and use a similar philosophy that Dick Lebeau used against the Patriots last Sunday. Should they consider using that strategy they will have to weary of Mendenhall and Redman running the ball. Even so, the front 4 of the Ravens lead by Haloti Ngata is perfectly capable of shutting down the run.

I suspect, well I hope, that Arians will have another unique gameplan in place to keep the Ravens on their toes. Let's face it, if you can out coach Bill Belichick & Tom Brady coming off a bye week, you can do anything you put your mind too. That being said, for this discussion you have to wonder what gameplan the Ravens will deploy to try and slow the Steelers offense. Normally both teams are content to play the traditional smash mouth, physical, contest during this rivalry but the Ravens took a different approach in week 1 and the Steelers are certainly a much more capable offense since that time.

If the Ravens are smart, after seeing the Patriots game, they wouldn't bitz as often as they usually do. Obviously, they have a better defensive line than the Patriots, but the Steelers have a better offensive line than they did the last time that these two teams played. I see Ben getting a lot more time to throw in this game than he did in the first week.

I don't think the Ravens defensive backs are as good as they look statistically either. Our WRs could easily attack them in the secondary if everything goes smoothly.

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Big difference this week is that Baltimore doesn't need to blitz to bring the pressure. With Ngata and Suggs, there is ample talent to get pressure. Don't forget, we did give up 5 sacks to the Patriots.

they will bring the heat...even if they dont the receivers the steelers have have always given the ravens DBs fits, espeically out of the bunch formation they never had an answer for it...even when it was nate washington and holmes. their chances of winning are greater if they sack ben 5-6 times, even though imo the number of times ben gets sacked rarely effects the outcome of the game

Big difference this week is that Baltimore doesn't need to blitz to bring the pressure. With Ngata and Suggs, there is ample talent to get pressure. Don't forget, we did give up 5 sacks to the Patriots.

It was more like 3 sacks because they got 2 at the end and Ben just held the ball because he didn't want to take any chances. Thats still not bad for 50 pass attempts.

They aren't going to change their defense. They will come after Ben big time. That's who they are and what they do and their best chance to win is to pressure Ben and force him into making mistakes. Who ever wins the turn over battle probably wins the game.

"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself."
-Wayne Dyer

The Ravens defense is alot better than given credit for. They have 5 dbs that could probably start for most teams in Webb, J. Smith, C. Williams, Carr, and Gorrer.

The difference from last year to this year is that the dbs they have are a whole lot better than before. Hopefully we can get some semblance of a running game going so that the Ravens will have to slow up from blitzing.

We also need to make sure our LBs, whoever they maybe, stay disciplined for Rice and the cutback runs. If not, Flacco will be able to playaction over them.

The Ravens defense is alot better than given credit for. They have 5 dbs that could probably start for most teams in Webb, J. Smith, C. Williams, Carr, and Gorrer.

The difference from last year to this year is that the dbs they have are a whole lot better than before. Hopefully we can get some semblance of a running game going so that the Ravens will have to slow up from blitzing.

We also need to make sure our LBs, whoever they maybe, stay disciplined for Rice and the cutback runs. If not, Flacco will be able to playaction over them.

This will definitely be a very good game.

How are they better than given credit for? They are, currently, the best defense in the game which has been widely acknowledged. And well... The stats agree.

That said, their CBs are not very good at all. They live off an amazing pass-rush, but they have no answers for any team which can provide their QB with a little time. Much like Steelers.

However much you think you know about football, rest assured that Skip Bayless knows more!